Described herein is an operating device for a motor vehicle, by which at least one unit of the motor vehicle can be operated by a user. For this purpose, the operating device has an actuating element for detecting a user actuation. The actuating element may be for example a button. Also provided is an actuator device, by which the actuating element can be moved, the actuator device having for this purpose an electromagnet and a permanent magnet. Finally provided is a control device, which in dependence on an actuating signal applies a current to the electromagnet, in order in this way to move the actuating element out of a rest position. Also described herein is a motor vehicle with the operating device and also a method for operating an operating device.
An operating device is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0037546 A1. This operating device has as an actuating element a plate, which is mounted on two actuator devices that each have permanent magnets and an electrical coil as an electromagnet. With the actuator device, the plate can be moved out of a rest position. The plate is kept in the rest position because it is clamped between two elastic regions, a sealing region and a supporting region.
A disadvantage of the known operating device is that, after being deflected by the actuator device, the plate tends to oscillate around the rest position after the actuator device has been deactivated. The reason for this is the resilient mounting of the plate between the elastic elements. As a result, the haptic feedback that can be felt by the user when actuating the plate is perceived as an imprecise or spongy or slowly decaying vibration.
By contrast, what would be desirable is an operating device in which an actuating element, for example a button, performs a one-off movement for a limited time that can be clearly perceived by a user, for example a clicking movement or a shudder or a jump.
German Patent Application No. 10 2011 089 400 A1 describes an operating device for a motor vehicle in which a movement of an actuating element is decelerated by a magnetic fluid, the viscosity of the fluid being controllable by an external magnetic field. In this case, the movement is inhibited by a permanent magnet and the actuating element becomes movable by eliminating the magnetic field of the permanent magnet by an electromagnet.
German Patent Application No. 10 2011 079 863 A1 describes a turn-and-press adjuster, the spatial deflection of which as the result of a user actuation is detected by a permanent magnet being arranged on the turn-and-press adjuster and by Hall sensors of a printed circuit board arranged alongside the adjuster detecting a change in the magnetic field of the permanent magnet.
An aspect of the disclosure is based on producing haptic feedback for a user of a clearly defined time or clearly limited time in the case of an operating device of a motor vehicle.